Garcia's liability relieved by shared pressure of Ryder Cup

Published 4:00 am, Thursday, September 18, 2008

Photo: EDDIE KEOGH, REUTERS

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

Spain's Sergio Garcia of the European Ryder Cup team smiles on the ninth green during practice for the 37th Ryder Cup Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky September 16, 2008. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh (UNITED STATES) less

Spain's Sergio Garcia of the European Ryder Cup team smiles on the ninth green during practice for the 37th Ryder Cup Championship at the Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Kentucky September 16, 2008. ... more

At one point, Garcia signed autographs standing alongside Padraig Harrington. They wore the same cream-colored slacks and matching shirts, and their caddies carried identical blue-and-gold European team bags. They are teammates this week, with no chance of Harrington tormenting Garcia come Sunday.

Here, at the Ryder Cup, Garcia does the tormenting.

If the United States really wants to retrieve the Cup, it might start by finding a way to slow down the world's greatest golfer - and, no, we're not talking about Tiger Woods. In this context, at this event dripping with history and international significance, Garcia sits alone atop the throne.

He sparkles in the Ryder Cup as reliably as he sputters in major championships. Even now, despite 13 career victories on the PGA and European tours and millions in the bank at age 28, Garcia owns as many major titles as the weekend hacker at your local municipal course. Zero.

But plop him into this team format, where the weight of the world does not fall singularly on his shoulders, and Garcia morphs into Superman. He is 14-4-2 in four previous Ryder Cup appearances. He's unbeaten in eight alternate-shot matches. His combined record against the top U.S. players - Woods, Phil Mickelson and Jim Furyk - stands at 12-2.

This is the same whiny, woe-is-me Garcia who can't win a major?

"Passion," European captain Nick Faldo said when asked why the Ryder Cup suits Garcia so well. "That man's got a ton of passion. It's very much a Spanish thing, along with Seve (Ballesteros) and (Jose Maria) Olazabal and other players from the past. Spain has always made a great contribution to the Ryder Cup."

The Europeans are 3-1 with Garcia on their roster, a run of success reminiscent of the 1980s, when Ballesteros and Olazabal (and Faldo) sparked Europe to two consecutive wins and a tie. And much as Ballesteros irritated many American players with his gamesmanship, Garcia's showboating perpetually grates on the boys in red, white and blue.

In 2002, the typically mild-mannered Furyk said, "We lost to 11 gentlemen and one little boy." Two years later, Garcia infuriated Chris DiMarco by admonishing him for an exuberant fist pump, the same kind of demonstrative display for which Garcia has become known in the Ryder Cup.

The solution, then, is straightforward: Beat him.

That's not so simple when Garcia brings along a security blanket. Dig deeper into that 14-4-2 record and find this: He's only 1-3 in singles matches. That means Garcia is 13-1-2 in two-man competition (alternate shot and best-ball), when he takes to the course with a partner in tow.

Maybe the numbers reflect the European team's well-chronicled camaraderie. Or maybe they speak to Garcia's gregarious nature, often stifled in a solitary sport.

"One of the things I love about the Ryder Cup is how everybody comes together, how much better you get to know some of your teammates," he said. "Everybody kind of loosens up and opens up. Even though you might be friends with one or two, all the emotions come out."

At majors, Garcia's signature emotions are frustration and exasperation. He also makes a habit of evading responsibility - blaming the golf gods for his playoff loss to Harrington at last year's British Open, then insisting he wasn't disappointed when he fell to Harrington in last month's PGA Championship.

None of these negative vibes was evident during Wednesday's practice round. Garcia sprinted ahead to beat Jimenez to a portable restroom near the No. 16 tee. Jimenez responded by putting a twig in the lock, causing Garcia to briefly struggle to get out. Both men laughed, as did nearby spectators.

About 10 minutes later, Jimenez helped Garcia read a meandering, 25-foot birdie putt. Garcia rolled the putt into the hole and gave his partner a spirited high-five. He was clearly in his element.